muget

Forms

muget n (plural mugete)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian mugi + -et.^[2][3][4][5] Pușcariu and Candrea–Densusianu instead took it straight from Latin, from the accusative of Latin mūgītus (“lowing, bellowing”);^[5][6] Wiktionary gives both views, the Latin one through Vulgar Latin *mūgĭtus, with a short vowel.^[1] Scriban also derives it from the Latin noun, with the stress moved on the model of geamăt and urlet.^[7] The Latin noun is formed on mūgiō (“to low”).^[8]

Aromanian mudzit is explained in the same two ways, as a formation on its verb or from the Latin noun.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dimitrie Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică (1705) has the first record: „Numai răget, muget... în toate părțile ... se auzea” “nothing but roaring and lowing could be heard on every side”.^[9][3] MDA2 dates the same text to 1704.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word first names the long call of cattle and other horned animals, and with Creangă also the bell of a stag in the rut.^[3][10] By analogy it was applied to a loud, piercing human cry, to the roar of water, storm and wind (Alecsandri's Rhine falls “with a long, wild roar”), to the hooting of sirens and machines, and rarely to the boom of guns.^{[3][2][4][10]}

Timeline

• 1705 – first record, in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[9][3]
• 1818 – in Budai-Deleanu's lexicon.^[3]
• 1870 – Costinescu's dictionary glosses mugetu as French mugissement.^[11]
• 1893–1895 – Damé glosses it “mugissement, beuglement”.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A moo, bellow: the long call of cattle and other horned animals.^[2][1]
2. A loud, piercing human cry, a roar or howl.^[2][4]
3. The loud hoot of machines, sirens and the like.^[2][4]
4. The loud, long noise of wind, storm or water.^[2][10]
5. (rare) The boom of guns.^[4][10]

Related words

• mugi
• mugitor
• Aromanian mudzit
• Latin mūgītus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 679
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. muget
4. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 71
5. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. mugi
6. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. muget
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 839
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. muget
10. ^ a b c d Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 138
11. ^ Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 2, 122
12. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État